When it comes to golf, a few us have what it
takes while the rest of us don’t. And by “it”, I
mean having the ability to drive the ball a
long way coupled with the talent to hit precise
iron shots that check up on the green. If
you’re one of golf’s mere mortals, as most of
us are, you might want to consider playing a
golf ball that’s specifically designed to help
your game, not a tour pro’s.
That’s the
premise behind TaylorMade’s three-piece
Project (a) golf ball.

Designed specifically for amateurs, the
Project (a)
ball uses the company’s “React Core” to
maximize a golfer’s length off the tee and the
“Soft Tech” cast urethane cover to bump up
the spin rate on short shots played around the
green. TaylorMade’s ball also has a “Spin
Mantle” middle layer that helps regulate spin
on shots played outside the usual scoring
zone.

TaylorMade engineers studied the
tendencies associated with the typical
recreational player and concluded that on
average, amateurs generate 50 percent less
spin than tour pros. So while your prototypical
tour pro is hitting a dozen greens per round,
an amateur is dancing for birdie only four to
six times (depending
on handicap). Whether it’s landing the ball
short or hitting a screamer with a long iron
that trundles off the back of the green, an
amateur is working to save par about 75
percent of the time.

That’s a whole lot of opportunities to get
up and down. With that in mind, the shot-
stopping power of the Project (a) golf ball
kicks in where you need it most - from 30
yards and in. Based on robot testing, the
Project (a) ball generated an more than 2000
rpm of additional backspin on 30-yard shots
over its nearest three-piece ball competitor
and an impressive 3000 rpm over the
competition from a 60-yard distance.

Of course golfers aren’t robots, so we at
AmateurGolf.com recommend that you take
the Project (a) ball ($31.99 per dozen) and
other high-quality three-piece models out for
a spin on the golf course to find the right ball
for your game. Some excellent options within
the same price bracket as the Project (a)
include: Titleist’s NXT
Tour and NXT Tour S, the new Chrome Soft ball from
Callaway and Bridgestone’s eSeries.